To help kick off the Week, members of the Paper Rose team went back to school, took assembly in Nottingham’s Cropwell Bishop Primary School and followed this with a mass card-writing session with the pupils. Neighbouring publisher, The Art File visited the city’s Children’s Hospital armed with cards for the patients and nurses to write; over in the Cheshire village of Martson, the public responded very positively to Katie Phythian Designs’ 200 card (with stamps!) giveaway; and Wraptious has donated cards to a local befriending charity.
Sarah Tanser of Paper Rose said, “We are really excited to inspire the next generation, get them thinking about greeting cards and the sentiment behind sending one. It was so lovely to see the children really thinking about others and what they would like to say.
Paper Rose will also be holding our own ToYW week event, where we will all be writing cards to five people to send a message of caring.”
And this is the third year that James Mace from The Art File team has headed to Nottingham Children’s Hospital, to deliver lots of free cards. He said, “It’s an absolute pleasure to be invited back by the hospital year after year for this fantastic event. I bring a wide selection of cards to choose from on the wards, which allows children to send cards home to their family, friends and loved ones. Nurses and Doctors on the wards also encourage parents, friends and visitors to write cards to the children they’re visiting, creating a wave of positivity and thoughtfulness at difficult times.”
In another free card initiative, Katie Phythian of Katie Phythian Design took ‘Thinking of You Week’ to her local community with a stall at the ‘Live and Local’ event in her home village of Marston in Cheshire. During the course of the day over 200 cards (with stamps!) were given away and visitors were encouraged to take a card and send it to someone special. “The response was incredible and people just couldn’t believe what a great idea ToYW was, not just for this week but in general.
“It was a great opportunity to discuss the benefits of sending cards and promote the ethos behind Thinking of You Week.” said Katie, “It was heart-warming how many people shared their personal stories. It was so noticeable how people knew straight away where their card was going and the stories they shared were so touching. It really helped us to realise what a special industry we are in.” There’s no doubt about the extra 200 smiles they helped to send during a special week for the industry. “We had an amazing day and we are already talking about a bigger repeat of the event next year.”
Marston Live and Local went on into the evening with live bands, stalls and exhibitions. It took place across the road from the Katie Phythian studio at the historic Marston Salt Works in Cheshire. “Thanks to everyone who made it such an amazing day, see you all next year.”
In another lovely giveaway initiative Manchester based publisher, Wraptious has donated packs of cards to Levenshulme Good Neighbours, a befriending charity that supports older people who find themselves isolated or lonely.
“The cards are being used to send older people who are in hospital, who are feeling unwell, or who are perhaps just in need of a friendly word or two to brighten their day.” said Simon Wadsworth, the company’s founder. “We have also given some cards to the older people themselves, so that they can send messages to friends and family and continue sharing the love! It’s a great charity that makes a big difference in our community.”
